Michael Eavis says he’s confident that Glastonbury will never lose its licence because the contemporary arts festival is now too important to the local economy.
There was a time when the festival’s annual licence application to Mendip District Council was always in doubt, and not always approved on first hearing. Since Mean Fiddler (now Festival Republic) got involved, the festival hasn’t had as many licensing problems, and in 2007 got a four year rather than one year licence, meaning the festival doesn’t have to reapply to the council until 2011.
Speaking on Radio 4′s ‘Desert Island Discs’, Eavis said he didn’t foresee any problems regarding the festival’s licence after 2011, stating: “The local economy gets £100m a year. So there’s no discussion about not allowing the festival a licence any more. They won’t stop it now”. Part of that local economy boost comes directly from the fact that Michael Eavis needs to rent land off seven other farmers in order to stage the event.
Talking about his late wife Jean Eavis, and their intention prior to her death in 1999 to stop hosting the Festival in 2000 so they could retire from all the work that came with it, Michael continued: “We’d agreed we were going to retire. But unfortunately Jean never made it. So I was more determined to carry it on because I didn’t have a girlfriend or anything. And of course all the kids were very keen on it. So it was like my new lady friend in a way, the festival”.
Among the songs picked by Eavis on the Radio 4 show was The Stone Roses’ ‘Waterfall’, The Grateful Dead’s ‘Uncle John’s Band’, Coldplay’s ‘The Scientist’ and The Smiths’ ‘Stop Me If You Think You’ve Heard This One Before’.
Remembering The Smiths appearance at Glastonbury in 1984, he remarked: “We’d been having hippy stuff up until then, and suddenly we had the Smiths, who were very cool, and very fashionable. And it just changed the whole event. It suddenly became a big pop festival then”.
